It seems like a long way off, but the filing period for the 2019 municipal elections is coming up fast. Offices on the ballot in 2019 will include municipal positions (mayors, city council members, etc.), township offices, and local bodies like school, park, fire, and library districts. The exact offices on the ballot will differ from place to place. Some municipal elections are partisan (meaning that candidates are listed on the ballot as Green, Republican, Democrat, etc.), while others are not.

The official election calendar kicks off with petitioning in August of 2018, and the Illinois Green Party nomination process for candidates who want to run as a Green (or with Green support in non-partisan elections) starts even sooner. Here are the dates you need to know:

April 16 - July 22, 2018: Window for prospective Green Party candidates to submit Candidate Questionnaires to the ILGP Secretary (secretary@ilgp.org) and arrange interviews with their local chapter (or the ILGP Executive Committee if there is no local chapter).

July 22, 2018: Final date for prospective Green Party candidates to secure recognition from their local Green Party Chapter (or the ILGP Executive Committee if there is no local chapter).

July 23-29, 2018: Online ballots of Green Party membership in districts. Candidates who received recognition from their local chapter (or the ILGP Executive Committee where there is no local chapter) will be placed on an online ballot available to all ILGP members in the relevant district. Elections will be conducted using Instant Runoff Voting, including a "None of the Remaining" option (or "None of the Above" in the case of single-candidate ballots). Winners of the online ballots will be official Green Party endorsed candidates.

August 28, 2018: First day for 2019 candidates to begin circulating candidate petitions.

If you're ready to run Green in 2019, email secretary@ilgp.org or sign up on our Run For Office page! We'll get in touch with more information on local elections in your area, and on how to secure recognition from your local chapter.

"Voices from Our Grassroots" is a series of essays by Illinois Green Party members, describing why they're a Green! If you'd like to submit an essay, please contact volunteer@ilgp.org.

It’s not easy being a Green.

No, it’s not easy rejecting corporate money. Clearly: because neither the Republicans nor the Democrats seem to be able to resist. Brewing for decades, and solidified by the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling and the 2016 Presidential election of real estate baron Donald Trump, it is safe to say that American society is now a plutocracy. Controlled by a gang of wealthy bandits, we are increasingly being held hostage. As Greens, we know that corporate money has no place in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Illinois Green Party Adds Sex Work Decriminalization to State Platform; Urges National Party to Follow Suit

CHICAGO – At the Illinois Green Party (ILGP) 2018 Spring Convention held March 24-25 in Chicago, party membership unanimously approved new language in the state platform that calls for the decriminalization of voluntary sex work, and the treatment of sex workers as workers under existing labor laws. The official Platform will be updated accordingly.

"This was a common-sense change for us," said ILGP Secretary Geoffrey Cubbage. "Endorsing decriminalization brings the Illinois Green Party platform in line with the recommendations of major human rights groups, medical journals, and, most importantly, the vast majority of sex workers and sex-worker-led organizations."

Previously, the ILGP platform had contained no language specific to sex work. However, the national Green Party platform opposes sex work, classifying it as "violence against women" and calling for criminalization under the so-called "Nordic model." Cubbage said that the Illinois Green Party would continue to push for decriminalization language at the national level as well.

"The language in the national platform is very problematic," said Cubbage. "In the context of the recent SESTA/FOSTA votes, it's never been clearer that anti-sex-work laws only serve the continued erosion of privacy and civil rights. Instead of listening to moral crusaders and celebrities, our party needs to be listening to the people directly affected by these laws."

The Illinois Green Party, in co-sponsorship with five other state chapters and three of the party's national diversity/identity caucuses, introduced a proposal last year to change the national party platform language to a decriminalization stance on sex work. The measure will be up for a vote in late April/early May, and can be viewed online at http://gpus.org/other/platform-2017/criminalization-of-sex-work/

Individuals and organizations that wish to urge their state chapter of the Green Party to support the decriminalization proposal can find contact information at http://www.gp.org/state_parties, or contact secretary@ilgp.org for more resources and information about the ongoing campaign.

Paid for by the Illinois Green Party. Contributions may be used in connection with federal elections and are subject to all federal campaign contribution limits. Contributions are not deductible for federal income tax purposes as charitable contributions.